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  • Car stereo.

    Chust in case it could be of interest to peeps thinking of ways of tackling their ICE, I've decided to go for the following method as part of my interior refurb:

    I have installed a 100W MOSFET power amp under the dash sitting on the transmission tunnel where it will ultimately be completely hidden from sight. My speaker pods are fitted under the rear seat overhangs where they, too, cannot be seen.

    All that's visible is the power switch - to be mounted on the dash - and a fly lead which terminates in a 3mm jack plug.

    I was initially intending to use this along with a portable CD/Radio player which I'd bought for the job (& which has 60 second anti-shock memory!), but have just been trialling the set-up with a radio/MP3 player which I bought - new - from Ebay for the princely sum of 99p + £3 postage...

    Apart from the security advantage of having an apparently 'non-existent' system, you can also locate the tiny player up on the dash - or even windscreen - where it is easy to reach & control. If you want to be completely future-proof, you can even pick up a DAB radio with MP3 player for less than £30 on the same virtual marketplace mentioned before. These units - even my cheapo - will even allow recording from the radio and voice recording too, if that rocks your particular boat.

    There are some potential 'issues' however; radio reception isn't as strong as a conventional car radio with external aerial, and I'm going to experiment with ways of improving this (it DOES work, but you can experience lots of 'drop-outs' depending on location) and, unless you get a system with a reasonably-sized display, it can be tricky to use on the move - but you can actually get used to the controls very quickly and should be able to operate it by touch after a short while! One of the DAB systems mentioned above has a very simple single mini-'joystick' on its front to control virtually everything - should be ideal!

    Food for thought?!

    (Oh, the amp cost me £10 2nd-hand...)


  • #2
    Re: Car stereo.

    What speakers have you used and how much?

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    • #3
      Re: Car stereo.

      Hello Keith.

      Are you being sarcy?!

      The speakers actually came in a second kit car I have and need to rebuild - so essentially they're free! To be honest, they are the weak point in the system, being 'Saisho' 3-way speakers in plastic pods. Mind you, you aren't exactly going to be hearing HI-FI by the time the Marlin has added its own particular timbre...

      I've only just got into this 'MP3' thing, and it strikes me as being a being an ideal way to handle music in a car; it offers an almost limitless selection of tracks to choose from, no moving parts, can be positioned virtually anywhere for easy access, slips into your pocket when you park, (and you can carry on listening to it!), cheap...

      It was the 'security' aspect that first got me thinking about it, but I think it offers a few other advantages too.

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      • #4
        Re: Car stereo.

        No I wasn't being sarcastic. I do use a radio when the hood is up and I am in town i.e. less than 50mph otherwise no point.. On long journeys I have occasionally stuck one half of earphones in one ear as I am not comfy witht he idea of totally blocking out external sound. The reason I asked about the speakers is that I blew up the first pair by mismatching them without realising. I just want a pair of small encapsulated speakers that I can throw loose behind the seats and there is virtually no room.

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        • #5
          Re: Car stereo.

          Ha ha! I thought you were picking me up on my Scottish obsession with bargains!

          You'll be pretty safe with 8 ohm speakers, I'm sure, but best to look at what your amp will take. Most systems are suitable for 4 or 8 ohms, and many will handle both.

          Could you have blown them with excessive volume, I wonder?!

          If you check out Ebay, I'm sure you'll find suitable speakers.

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          • #6
            Re: Car stereo.

            Hi again, Keith.

            Most of the speakers on Ebay are 'loose' ones requiring fitting in a panel (shelf, door, etc). There are a couple of 'ready-podded' ones, but they are possibly too large for what you have in mind?

            One of the few places where there should be room in your car is over the transmission tunnel, tucked under the dash. I'd have thought it would be quite straight-forward to make up an enclosed box to sit on there, with a speaker aiming out each side, angled slightly towards the occupants (and possibly with a baffle board in the middle to separate them). This could hold virtually any size of speaker.

            A few off-cuts of MDF/plywood should be enough!

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            • #7
              Re: Car stereo.

              Thanks for the idea but I have no room. I have built a very efficient heater that sits on top of the tunnel and it uses the Sierra centre console duct to blow hot air into hands/faces if need be. However, It has provoked a thought that I am going to check out once the holidays are over, the garden shrubs have been pruned, the main bedroom as had an inbuilt wardrobe built, the bedroom has been decorated etc., etc

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              • #8
                Re: Car stereo.

                Keith what,s this vey efficient heater you have made? is this an opportunity for a new thread.

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                • #9
                  Re: Car stereo.

                  Hi Bob,

                  I did an article in Pitstop about 10 years ago but I don;t have a copy of it any more although I still have the drawings if you are interested. Essentially I stripped the fan and heater core from the Sierra donor and made an aluminiun box to take them that had control flaps inside to send the air stream either up to the windscreen or out to side or front to warm your tootsies. I used the Sierra consol centre outlet for the forward facing outlet and 120deg. waste pipe bends (sprayed black) to provide swivelling side outlets. Finally, I used the 3 speed switch from the donor. All in all I am very pleased with it (and have even used it as a heat dump when stuck in traffic on hot summer days (my small Escort rad. even with electric fan going can't keep the 2.0 DOHC engine cool for long in traffic jams). Can anyone out there point Bob to the original article in PitStop?

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